Storage bins



May 19, 1970 M. L. STRYDOM 3,512,662

STORAGE BINS Filed Nov. 25, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mame/r2 1. 5740 00/14 May 19, 1970 M. L. STRYDOM ,662

7 I STORAGE BINS Filed Nov. 25, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Maw/72 776 6044 May 19-, .1970 M. L. STRYDCM STORAGE BIN S .5 Sheets-Sheet 5 m M W N y T Z A n v mn m A r M ZW W m M mm mm Rm mm m m m m N. o m 5mm 5mm 5mm 5mm Sum m2 =5 23 $223 $223 $223 vw mm M N W m u m m m .Swm Zmm 5mm mm Zmm mom mom mom mom mom OE.zou domhzou JOWZZOQ 401F200 405.200 wm @m mm m Om m 0 Q u Filed Nov. 25, 1968 United States Patent 3,512,662 STORAGE BINS Mauritz L. Strydom, Stellenbosch, Republic of South Africa, assiguor to Tobacco Research and Development Institute Limited, Zug, Switzerland Filed Nov. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 778,701 Claims priority, application Republic of South Africa, Nov. 30, 1967, 67/7,234 Int. Cl. B65g 65/76 US. Cl. 214-17 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A storage bin is provided which serves as a link between two machines in a cigarette making factory and which moreover acts as a buffer between the two machines. The bin has at least three end to end conveyors forming its base. Control means are provided to actuate and deactuate the various conveyors to cause articles fed into one end of the bin to form heaps which are then transported to the other end of the bin. The control means are individually responsive to the level of articles at the feed and discharge ends of the bin and the start of the third and subsequent conveyors from the feed end of the bin.

This invention relates to storage bins.

When two machines in a cigarette making factory are linked, an essential feature of the link is that it must receive articles in the way that the delivering machine delivers them and presents them to the receiving machine in a fashion best suited to the receiving machine.

An object of the invention is to provide a storage bin which can serve as such a link and which also serve as a buffer between the two machines.

A storage bin according to the invention consists of:

an elongated trough;

a fixed wall at one end of the trough;

means for feeding loose goods and preferably rod-shaped articles to the bin adjacent the fixed wall;

a discharge zone at the end of the trough remote from the fixed wall;

a series of at least three endless conveyor bands arranged end to end in the floor of the trough between the fixed wall and the discharge zone and all being movable to feed material from the fixed wall towards the discharge zone;

first sensing means for sensing the level of goods adjacent the fixed wall, second sensing means for sensing the level of good at the discharge zone;

third sensing means for sensing the presence of goods at a predetermined level over the start of the third band, i.e. the end of the third band nearest the fixed wall;

if there be more than three bands, intermediate sensing means similar to the third sensing means at the start of each band after the third;

means responsive to the first sensing means for causing the first two bands to move when the level of goods adjacent the fixed wall reaches a predetermined high level and to cause such movement to stop when it reaches a predetermined lower level;

means responsive to the third sensing means to cause the second and further bands to move when goods are present at the correct level at the start of the third band; a

means responsive to the second sensing means to start all bands after the first when the level of goods at the discharge zone reaches a predetermined low level and to stop such hands when the level at the discharge zone reaches a predetermined high level;

3,512,662 Patented May 19, 1970 and means responsive to the third sensing means and any intermediate sensing means to block signals causing the band at the start of which it is present to move when the second sensing means senses goods at the predetermined high level and the third or any intermediate sensing means senses material before it.

The invention is further discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by Way of example a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which,

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are schematic sections through the storage bin of the invention, illustrating its operation; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a control circuit according to the present invention.

For the sake of clarity the side walls of the troughshaped bin have not been illustrated.

In the illustrated embodiment the bin has a fixed rear wall 4 inclined at the angle or repose of the goods being' handled. At the other end of the bin there is a discharge hopper 12 from which conveyor belts 13 extract the goods being handled.

Between the wall .4 and the hopper 12 there is a series of conveyor belts 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. There may be more or less depending on the circumstances, but there should never be less than three.

A feed conveyor 10 feeds goods into the bin. In th s case the goods are rod-shaped articles the orientation of which have to be maintained. To assist in this there is a bridge 2 from which there hangs a series of curtains 3 according to the teachings of the complete specification of Republic of South Africa Pat. No. 66/615.

Adjacent the wall 4 there are two level sensing devices A which sense when goods reach predetermined high or low levels. Over the hopper 12 there are similar devices B.

At a predetermined level over the start of the belt 7 there is a sensing device C which senses the presence of goods at that level. Similar devices D are at the starts of the belts 8 and 9.

In operation articles arrive on the belt 10 and accumulate adjacent the wall 4. When the upper level to which the device A is responsive is reached (FIG. 1), the belts 5 and 6 are caused to move by a control means not shown. This causes the height of goods adjacent the wall 4 to drop and when the lower level to which the device A is responsive is reached, the movement of the belts 5 and 6 is stopped. The goods move under the curtains 3 which help to keep them orientated.

Eventually the goods will reach the belt 7 (FIG. 2). When the level in front of the device C is high enough, the control means causes all the belts excepting the belt 5 to move. This causes a valley to be formed between the belts 5 and 6 so that the mass of goods is divided into two parts (FIG. 3). The forward part keeps on moving until a signal from the device B that the maximum level has been reached causes the belts 6 to 9 to stop. The rearward part adjacent the wall 4 remains stationary unless a signal from the device A starts belts 5 and 6.

Thus the articles move in heaps between the Wall 4 and the hopper 12.

As said above the device C determines when a heap has to move forward. However, it also controls the belt 7 to inhibit it from moving when the device B signals that the upper level has been reached and the device C determines that sufficient material is in front of it. Likewise the devices D control the belts 3 and 9 to inhibit them from moving when suificient material is present 3 reached and the device C detects sufiicient material before it, only belts 6 and 7 will move forward. The belts 8'and 9 will be stationary. Likewise, when only the belt 9 is filled, belts 6, 7 and 8 will move forward.

Of course, in the normal course of events all the belts after the belt 6 will not be inhibited against movement, and normally there will be many more belts.

The devices A, B, C and D can be connected to the belt controls and interconnected by a wide variety of means. FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a block diagram of a system utilizing series and parallel connected latching relays. In the drawing there are controls for actuators of each of the three belts. The controls have been marked 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24. The belt actuators, which may be electric -motors or clutches, have been marked 25 to 29 and the devices A to D are in boxes 30 to 34.

The device A in the box 30 gives either a high signal or a low signal. Each of the devices C and D gives either a signal that goods are present or that goods are absent. The device B gives either a high signal or a low signal.

When the control 20 for the belt gets a high signal it switches the actuator 25 on. At the same time the control 26 gets a high signal which causes it to switch on the actuator 26 if the latter is not already on. On arrival of a low signal the control '20 switches the actuator 25 off while the control 21 sets itself in a position which would switch 01f the actuator 26, unless a signal from elsewhere otherwise dictates.

On arrival of a presence signal from a device C or D the controls 21, 22, 23 and 24 switch on the actuators 26, 27, 28, 29 as the case may be. On arrival of an absence signal, they set themselves to the switching-oh. position. As each except the last 29 can get two absence signals or two presence signals, the presence signals take precedence over the absence signals.

The device B feeds either a high or a low signal to the control 24. On arrival of a high signal it sets itself in such a position that the presence or arrival of a presence signal from D is blocked'so that the actuator 29 is not switched on. At the same time combination of the presence signal and the high signal feeds back to the control 23 where the fed back signal acts in the same way as the high signal in the control 24. The control 23 feeds back to the control 22 and that inturn to the control 21. In practice by the time that both a fed back signal and a presence signal are present in the control 21- an alarm will go off or the 'whole system will become immobilized.

In practice each control 20 to 24 incorporates a delay so that an actuator 25-29 is not immediately switched ofi or switched on. This is done in order to give any belt a short time to clear its load before being switched 013? or to accumulate a bigger load before it moves forward.

To reiterate: heaps of the" articles are formed in the one part of the bin and the transported-over a series of belts to the other end over the bridges between the belts. The other end fills up and movement of the belts is controlled from the hopper into which the articles are dc posited. The main reason for the series of belts is that the section towards the end can be stationary when other heaps are brought forward. This prevents unnecessary chafing of the articles while a bundle is brought forward to join those that are stationary at the end.

I claim:

1. A storage bin comprising:

an elongated trough;

a fixed wall at one end of the trough;

means for feeding loose goods and preferably rodshaped articles to the bin adjacent the fixed wall;

a discharge zone at the end of the trough remote from the fixed wall;

a series of more than three endless conveyor bands arranged end to end in the floor of the trough between the fixed wall and the discharge zone and all being movable to feed material from the fixed wall towards the discharge zone;

first sensing means for sensing the level of goods adjacent the fixed wall, second sensing means for sensing the level of goods at the discharge zone;

third sensing means for sensing the presence of goods at a predetermined level over the start of the third band, i.e. the end of the third band nearest the fixed wall; intermediate sensing means similar to the third sensing means at the start of each band after the third;

means responsive to the first sensing means for causing the first two bands to move when the level of goods adjacent the fixed wall reaches a predetermined high leveland to cause such movement to stop when it reaches a predetermined lower level;

means responsive to the third sensing means to cause the second and further bands to move when goods are present at the correct level at the start of the third band;

means responsive to the second sensing means to start all bands after the first when the levelof goods at the discharge zone reaches a predetermined low level and to stop such bands when the level at the discharge zone reaches a predetermined high level;

l and means responsive to the third sensing means and the intermediate sensing means to block signals causing the band at the start of which it is present to move when the second sensing means senses goods'at the predetermined high level and the third and intermediate sensing means senses material before it.

2. A storage bin as claimed in claim 1, wherein the loose goods are rod-shaped articles.

3. A storage bin as claimed in claim 2 including means for maintaining the orientation of the rod-shaped articles in the bin.

4. A storage bin as claimed in claim 3 wherein the means for maintaining the orientation of the rod-shaped articles is located substantially over the second conveyor from the fixed wall.

5. A storage bin for storing loose. goods on a throughflow basis comprising an elongated trough, a fixed'wall at one end of the trough, means for feeding goods to the bin adjacent the fixed wall, a discharge zone at the end of the trough remote'from the fixed wall, at least three endless conveyor bands arranged end to end in the floor of the trough, high and low level detectors adjacent the fixed wall and over the discharge zone, detectors for detecting the presence of goods at the start of each band after the second from the fixed wall, and means so to control the movements ofthe endless bands that the two bands'nearest the fixed wall move together when a high level isdetected adjacent the fixed wall until a low level is detected adjacent the fixed wall, that belts after the first move when the presence of sutficient material on them is detected, and that when the high level is detected over the discharge zone the last band and bands preceding it on which material is detected are prevented from moving until the low level is detected over the discharge zone.

References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,147,883.. .9/1964 Jakobson 19s-3'7 XR 3,355,004 11/1967 .Rupert. I ROBERTYG. SHERIDAN, Primary Examiner r Us. or; my 19s 37 

